Apr 16, 2025 09:03 PM
(This post was last modified: Apr 16, 2025 09:08 PM by C C.)
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1080556
INTRO: A "remarkable" transformation is underway in American religious life, new Cornell-led research finds: Large numbers are leaving organized religion – not in favor of secular rationality, but to pursue spirituality in ways that better align with their individual values.
This reimagining of religion outside traditional institutions fits within broader social changes that have prioritized individual fulfilment and “finding” oneself, including shifting views about gender and sexuality and the rise of the internet. Spanning political views, it also reflects a revolt against religious organizations growing more bureaucratic, rigid and political over time.
"People aren't leaving religious institutions passively or only because of partisan politics, but because of more deeply held values – about the sacredness of the individual, their concern for others, and feeling that their participation in an institution doesn't align with being the type of person they want to be," said Landon Schnabel, associate professor of sociology and first author of "Breaking Free of the Iron Cage: The Individualization of American Religion," published April 14 in Socius. "They're more intentionally choosing to follow what they really believe in."
The proportion of religious "nones" in the U.S. – those claiming no religious affiliation – has surged in just a few decades, from 1 in 20 to more than 1 in 4. The new research advances understanding of the reasons behind that change, leveraging a nationally representative study that tracked teens as they came of age early in the 21st century – amid shifting social values and technological and economic upheaval.
The scholars analyzed data from more than 1,300 participants in the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) who completed four rounds of surveys between 2003 and 2013, starting when they were between 13 and 17 years old... (MORE - details)
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COMMENT: Undermines previous notions, however, that "nones" might represent a shift toward secular materialism and anti-mysticism. These eclectic, personal pursuits imply a feral landscape developing that could be more unpredictable than ever to deal with, which the traditional bureaucratic [religious] institutions at least kept minimalized into large, homogeneous chunks.
Surges in chaotic multifariousness may also contribute to offbeat populist candidates being elected. For instance, Trump and Bernie Sanders each attracting their own mixes of unconventional independents in recent/past political campaigns. Fringe elements, ideologies, conspiracies that customary Republican and Democrat platforms wouldn't normally attract.
INTRO: A "remarkable" transformation is underway in American religious life, new Cornell-led research finds: Large numbers are leaving organized religion – not in favor of secular rationality, but to pursue spirituality in ways that better align with their individual values.
This reimagining of religion outside traditional institutions fits within broader social changes that have prioritized individual fulfilment and “finding” oneself, including shifting views about gender and sexuality and the rise of the internet. Spanning political views, it also reflects a revolt against religious organizations growing more bureaucratic, rigid and political over time.
"People aren't leaving religious institutions passively or only because of partisan politics, but because of more deeply held values – about the sacredness of the individual, their concern for others, and feeling that their participation in an institution doesn't align with being the type of person they want to be," said Landon Schnabel, associate professor of sociology and first author of "Breaking Free of the Iron Cage: The Individualization of American Religion," published April 14 in Socius. "They're more intentionally choosing to follow what they really believe in."
The proportion of religious "nones" in the U.S. – those claiming no religious affiliation – has surged in just a few decades, from 1 in 20 to more than 1 in 4. The new research advances understanding of the reasons behind that change, leveraging a nationally representative study that tracked teens as they came of age early in the 21st century – amid shifting social values and technological and economic upheaval.
The scholars analyzed data from more than 1,300 participants in the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) who completed four rounds of surveys between 2003 and 2013, starting when they were between 13 and 17 years old... (MORE - details)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
COMMENT: Undermines previous notions, however, that "nones" might represent a shift toward secular materialism and anti-mysticism. These eclectic, personal pursuits imply a feral landscape developing that could be more unpredictable than ever to deal with, which the traditional bureaucratic [religious] institutions at least kept minimalized into large, homogeneous chunks.
Surges in chaotic multifariousness may also contribute to offbeat populist candidates being elected. For instance, Trump and Bernie Sanders each attracting their own mixes of unconventional independents in recent/past political campaigns. Fringe elements, ideologies, conspiracies that customary Republican and Democrat platforms wouldn't normally attract.